1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system for processing and displaying messages. In particular, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing the delivery of multiple instant messaging sessions to multiple paired delivery points.
2. Description of Related Art
Instant messaging is an online chat medium, allowing users to communicate with each other and to collaborate in real-time over a network data processing system. Instant messaging is commonly used over the Internet. Instant messaging applications monitor and report the status of users that have established each other as online contacts. This information is typically presented to a user in a window. Instant messaging applications also are often used by users conducting business. By utilizing instant messaging, business users can view each other's availability and initiate a text conversation with colleagues or customers when a desired contact becomes available. Millions of users communicate using instant messaging systems every day. With instant messaging becoming an important part of both personal and business communications, functionality and usability enhancements are important to the continued success of this type of communication tool.
Instant messaging applications may be used in computing devices such as, for example, workstations, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDA), and digital or mobile phones. Larger devices, such as workstations and personal computers provide large amounts of storage and computing power. Smaller computing devices, such as a PDA or mobile phone, do not have as much processing power or storage. These types of devices, however, provide portability and convenience for the user.
Users may employ multiple computing devices to receive instant messages. For example, a user may conduct an instant messaging session with a remote party on a workstation. This instant messaging session may also be delivered to another computing device employed by the user, for example, the user's mobile phone. In this manner, a user may conduct an instant messaging session using multiple computing devices, each device being paired with the user's other available devices to receive and conduct an instant messaging session on each device.
However, a shortfall recognized by the present invention is an inability of a user receiving messages on multiple devices to determine which replies belong to which questions or comments when multiple communications threads are occurring. Currently, multiple conversation threads must be viewed and managed through a single window pane in legacy instant messaging systems. For example, a user may be utilizing an instant messaging session to talk to the user's manager about a particular contract and when the user remembers he needs to ask a completely unrelated question, the user is forced to insert this unrelated question into the current conversation thread in the window or wait until the current thread has completed. If, by waiting for the current thread to complete, the user may not remember the current topic. As a result, a user must attempt to understand what response is related to what thread of conversation. However, in some situations, it may not be possible to do so.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing the delivery of multiple instant messaging sessions having different threads of conversation to multiple paired delivery points.